Last week, Trump ended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that protected eligible undocumented youth from deportation and provided them with renewable U.S. work permits. The White House announced that it plans to delay the program’s termination for six months, giving Congress an opportunity to enshrine DACA into law. But, there’s a catch. Earlier this week, House Republicans told Politicothey are willing to make DACA law only in exchange for border wall funding. The Left’s response should be a firm and unwavering no.

Efforts to couch border militarization and inhumane immigration enforcement under the guise of a reform bill aren’t new. Over the past several decades, immigration policies under every presidential administration have systematically militarized the southern border, contributing to the deaths of thousands of immigrants and the criminalization of millions of others. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) not only legalized millions of migrants but also imposed sanctions on employers who knowingly hired undocumented workers and allocated more funds to Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS). That led to the hiring of more Border Patrol personnel, the construction of new Border Patrol stations, checkpoints, and detention centers, and an influx of new equipment at the border — including helicopters, night-vision scopes, night vision goggles, and surveillance systems. In short, the tradeoff for legalizing some immigrants was the creation of a war zone at the border. Indeed, since then, 187 billion dollars have been spent on border security and immigration enforcement.

This same debate is taking place today. Legislators have made it clear that, in the next six months, they will “see if we can do a deal where we secure our border and . . . give the DREAM Act kids what they deserve which is to stay in the country they call home.” While this may sound like a smart political move to some, we cannot offer up the lives of other migrants as collateral damage in the name of reaching a compromise.

Trump’s border wall will create more dangerous crossing conditions for migrants — especially for women — and lead to more deaths along the border. It also will adversely affect the environment and indigenous communities whose traditional lands are split between Mexico and the United States. What’s more, research shows that it doesn’t even work: building walls and militarizing the border doesn’t stop the flow of migration but rather serves only to push border crossers into more remote and dangerous places, leading to more death and human suffering.

We must denounce any bill that sees some migrants as more disposable than others. We cannot allow legislators to use the rescission of DACA to promote their own white supremacist, anti-immigrant, xenophobic border militarization agenda. Increased border security and immigration enforcement efforts kill people, tear families apart, and strip migrants of their human and civil rights. Under no circumstances should border wall funding be part of a DREAM Act. On this we cannot compromise.

The ‘‘Protecting Our Communities from Gang Violence Act of 2018’’ Act, introduced in the House of Representatives last month by Republican Lee Zeldin of New York, would allow the U.S. government to revoke the citizenship status of naturalized immigrants who have been or are affiliated or associated with a criminal gang.

The bill stipulates that an immigrant’s citizenship status can be called into question by a determination “that an alien does not exhibit good moral character based on gang membership, association, affiliation, or provision of material support” within ten years of becoming naturalized. In a press release, Zeddin cited the “the rise of MS-13 and other gangs” as the impetus for proposing the bill and also stressed the need to “crack down on . ...

The Georgia state legislature is considering a bill that would allow adoption agencies to turn LGBTQ couples away. That’s how much they hate us: they’d rather leave kids in foster care then let them be in our loving homes.

SB-375, also known as the “Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act,” would allow child-placement agencies to refuse to work with potential parents if it violates their “sincerely held religious beliefs.” As opponents pointed out on the Senate floor last week, it’s obvious who the bill is targeting: if passed, taxpayer funded adoption agencies would be free to turn away qualified LGBTQ ...

The Georgia state legislature is considering a bill that would allow adoption agencies to turn LGBTQ couples away. That’s how much they hate us: they’d rather leave kids in foster ...

The Oscars are coming up this Sunday and if there’s one movie I’m rooting for, it’s the contender for best animated feature film, Coco.

This film is important for so many reasons; for many Latinx youth, it’s the first time we’re seeing our stories and heritageaccurately reflected on the silver screen. And on top of celebrating and honoring Mexican culture and traditions, Coco is a movie made for Latinx children and their families during the Trump era. Released a few months after Trump rescinded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and during a time when we feel underappreciated and under attack, Coco is a love letter to immigrants.

The film tells the story of Miguel Rivera, a young ...

The Oscars are coming up this Sunday and if there’s one movie I’m rooting for, it’s the contender for best animated feature film, Coco.

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